The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has shut down four unregistered bakeries in Rivers state’s Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
According to the agency, the four bakeries were operating without registration licences and in unsanitary conditions.
Chukwuma Oligbu, NAFDAC Director, South-South Zone, said this in a statement made in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
Oligbu stated that the discovery came as a result of the agency’s efforts to eradicate the presence of bogus and substandard bakeries in the state and the zone as a whole.
The NAFDAC director also stated that after closing the bakeries, the owners were directed to the NAFDAC zonal office in Port Harcourt for questioning.
While emphasising that the inquiry was ongoing, he cautioned that violators of the agency’s existing regulations risk prosecution and a possible jail sentence if convicted.
The statement read, “The bakeries were operating without registration licences and with very poor hygienic practice.
“Pans with dough were being kept on the floor, the make shift buildings were with open and uncovered windows, bakery workers were not well kitted with Personal Protective Equipment.
“Lister generator sets were sited inside the production rooms, and they were no factory flow, etc.”
NAFDAC listed the affected bakeries as He Reigns Bakery, Rumuigbo; Divine Freedom Bread, Rumuomasi; De Heroes Bakery, Psychiatric Road, Rumuigbo; and The Lord’s Abundant Bakery, Rumuigbo.
“The four bakeries visited were subsequently shut down, and the owners directed to report at the Zonal office for questioning while investigations continue.
“Samples of the produced bread were taken for laboratory analysis,” the statement added.
He urged producers of NAFDAC-regulated products to seek guidance by visiting the agency’s office for advice on setting up their facilities and businesses, as the agency will make Rivers Etate and the entire South-South Zone uncomfortable for recalcitrant and illegal producers who refuse to comply with NAFDAC standards.
